And the tender, delicate saga of blossoming friendship between Governor and young naval officer continues... (Again wrapped in ultra-short prose, and this time also including the Governor's daughter *g*)

PARENTS

He can't possibly reprimand young Miss Swann as though she were one of his midshipmen. So James bites his tongue and looks the other direction, stern-faced but praying that by the time her father re-enters the library the girl will have already finished with what she is doing.

Only weeks later he learns that Elizabeth must have possessed every right to kneel down, rummage and re-arrange as she pleased, for the books on those shelves were entirely hers.

The revelation puzzles him.

James Norrington is the third child of five, and his parents' book cabinet forever a grim, guarded tower.

=============Lots of thanks to teenybuffalo, who was so kind to do the obligatory language check :-)

A handful of random Doctor Who observations:

1) I've already said this to selenak, right after the airing of "Smith and Jones", but will gladly say it again. So good to have this show back, and also this particular incarnation of the Doctor. Bright, verbal, eternally curious, skinny and hyperactive Ten, with all this flighty enthusiasm, self-deceit, grief and barely controlled anger.

2) Martha. Having been not that terribly fond of how streamlined and generic the official PR pictures presented her on the BBC's website, I was pleasantly surprised by how the character has been written and acted so far. Just like during the Christmas Special, the dynamic between Doctor and Companion seems to benefit from the fact that Ten finally has a Companion who wasn't inherited, but instead especially created to match his dramaturgical needs. Based on what I've seen, Martha strikes me as a good person to have around in the midst of chaos. Intelligent, sensible, charming and apparently quite quick on her feet *g*. Freema Ageyman (Sp?)and David Tennant possess a nice on-screen chemistry.

3) Very accidental and random, but isn't it a little bit odd that the opening episodes for season 1, "New Earth" and for season 2, "Smith and Jones" were both set in hospitals?

4) Face of Boe. No, last year's "New Earth" wasn't really my cup of tea (too hectic, too turbulent, full of *really* bad science, in my opinion), but I love the fact that Boe is kept as a recurring character. Anyone else speculating there might be a reason why Boe, imprisoned in his tank, does look so much like the Guild Navigators in David Lynch's version of Dune? Also, I'd like to see Ten's apparent "Lonely God" theme continued.

Drabble: awww. And yes, both to the idea that young Elizabeth would have those books (both that she'd love reading them and that her father would indulge her by giving them to her), and young James would not.

season 1, "New Earth" and for season 2, "Smith and Jones" were both set in hospitals?

They might be going for deliberate paralles. "The Unquiet Dead", "Tooth and Claw" and "The Shakespeare Code" were all three historicals. Two of which featured a writer the Doctor fanboy'd, three featured aliens using a supernatural disguise for an invasion attempt, and two featured the Doctor's talent to piss off English monarchs. (He got on well with Louis XV!)

They might be going for deliberate paralles. "The Unquiet Dead", "Tooth and Claw" and "The Shakespeare Code" were all three historicals.

Now that you are mentioning it... Yes, definitely. Oh, yes. So the current season's middle arc should probably feature Saxon, I guess *g*

So glad you enjoyed the drabble, because it's really quite based on my own, personal assumptions regarding Norrington's childhood. Something in his behaviour throughout CotBP (maybe his goal-oriented eagerness, his insecurities, his belief in authority/deference to Swann) automatically made me think "Oh, under-appreciated middle child. Alright, but rather strict and not that terribly affectionate upper middle class family".

I like very much the idea of Gov Swann as a kind and liberal father who lets his precocious little daughter play with books rather than with dolls !

Well, she's the only child of an outstandingly rich, intellectually and morally flexible single parent *g*

I also suspect that Swann, while certainly being a very loving, benevolent and generous father, may have had his own motives for granting his daughter such a privilege. Compared to other, more wild and tom-boyish things that a teenage Elizabeth eventually might have been up to, reading probably counted as a perfectly acceptable activity (and would also serve to increase the gap between her and young Mr Turner).

Oh, very good! Now that's an entire story with backstory included in 100 words. Amazing :) This says so much about all three of them; not only Swann's liberality and Norrington's being used to a lot more control from childhood on, but presumably Elizabeth will have noticed Norrington's disapproval and put it down to him being an old grouch, when in fact he was only worried about her getting caught. Brilliant!

Yes, re Who, I too wasn't sure about Martha from the publicity photos, where she looked too groomed and fashionable to have anything to do with Dr.Who (which is after all, a show proud of its geeky roots.) But the actual episodes dispelled that immediately. I think I already like her more than Rose, as she's a bit less emo and more likely to think first before acting, and Rose's enthusiasm sometimes grated on me.

Control, a rather longish, intimidating list of Do's and Don't's, and high moral and behavioral standards...

I like to think of the Norringtons as decent and caring, but also as being not that outwardly affectionate and certainly somewhat too distant for a sensitive flower like James (so the boy probably had to struggle quite hard for the occasional 'Well done!' that he was craving after so much).

I think I already like her more than Rose, as she's a bit less emo and more likely to think first before acting, and Rose's enthusiasm sometimes grated on me.

I know what you mean, even though I found myself disliking only the occasional bit of Season 2 smugness and her more superficial, arrogant moments.

As I had never watched any Doctor Who before the new series, she's the first companion I was ever exposed to *g*

Thank you so much for your feedback! Your thoughts on Elizabeth interpreting Norrington's behaviour as a sign of general grouchiness were spot on :-)

That's intriguing! So James was surprised Elizabeth owned and read books? This must have been one of those things about her that fascinated him. I always thought he was not the man who fell only for a pretty face; he'd be somebody who'd want a woman he can talk to about other things than the weather and the servants. Lovely, thank you! :)